Which startups have raised the most funding in the gaming market?

Last updated: 13 July 2026

market research pitch 2026

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This monthly updated list ranks the top startups in the gaming market by cumulative funding raised.

The gaming market is broad, covering game engines, mobile publishers, esports teams, Web3 gaming infrastructure, cloud gaming platforms, and independent game studios.

The ranking shows a market where a small number of platform-scale companies captured most of the capital.

A quick summary table

Metric Value
Most funded startup Epic Games, $7.9B
Second most funded startup Unity, $1.9B
Largest funding round Playtika IPO, $1.9B in January 2021
Median funding $56.5M
Share of funding captured by the top 10 About 73%
Median time since last round About 4.6 years
Startups that raised funding in the last 12 months 3 startups
Gaming platform funding concentration Epic Games, Unity, Roblox, Forte, and Improbable raised about $12.4B combined
Gaming exit activity 30 companies are IPO, acquired, or shut down
Active gaming startups in the ranking 54 companies remain active

Top startups in the gaming market ranked by total funding raised

Here is an updated table that ranks the top startups in the gaming market based on the total amount of funding they have raised to date.

The table also includes the total number of funding rounds, the date and size of the latest round, the financing type (e.g. Series A, equity financing), key investors, the startup’s current status (active, IPO, acquired, or shut down), and a confidence score based on the data collected (we excluded startups with very low data confidence, to make sure everything is reliable).

# Startup What They Do Total Raised ($) Total Rounds Last Round Date Last Round Amount ($) Last Round Type Key Investors Current Stage Confidence
1 Epic Games Game engine and Fortnite $7.9B 6 February 2024 $1.5B Strategic equity Disney, Sony, KIRKBI Active Strong
2 Unity Real-time game engine $1.9B 5 September 2020 $1.3B IPO Public investors, Silver Lake, Sequoia IPO Strong
3 Playtika Mobile casino-style games $1.9B 2 January 2021 $1.9B IPO BlackRock, Caledonia, Dragoneer IPO Strong
4 Scopely Mobile game publisher $1.0B 11 October 2020 $340M Series E Wellington, NewView, BlackRock Acquired Partial
5 Machine Zone Mobile strategy games $986M 5 December 2018 $720M Late-stage / growth JPMorgan Chase, Anthos Capital, Menlo Ventures Acquired Partial
6 Roblox User-generated gaming platform $922M 5 January 2021 $520M Series H Altimeter, Dragoneer, Warner Music IPO Strong
7 Forte Blockchain gaming infrastructure platform $910M 2 November 2021 $725M Series B Sea Capital, Kora Management, Andreessen Horowitz Active Strong
8 Niantic AR location-based games $775M 4 November 2021 $300M Series D Coatue, IVP, Spark Capital Acquired Full
9 Improbable Metaverse simulation infrastructure $772M 4 April 2022 $150M Venture / Metaverse financing Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Digital Currency Group Active Strong
10 Animoca Brands Web3 games and metaverse investor $680M 8 November 2024 $10M Mocaverse equity tranche OKX Ventures, CMCC Global, HongShan Active Partial
11 Dapper Labs NFT games and collectibles platform $666M 9 May 2022 $5M Series D Not fully disclosed Active Strong
12 Dream Games Mobile puzzle games $468M 4 January 2022 $255M Series C Index Ventures, BlackRock, IVP Active Full
13 Mythical Games Web3 game publishing platform $297M 5 June 2023 $37M Series C1 Scytale Digital, ARK Invest, Animoca Brands Active Strong
14 Glu Mobile Mobile game publisher $293M 7 May 2015 $75M Post-IPO equity Tencent, NEA, GGV Capital Acquired Partial
15 Immutable NFT gaming infrastructure $277M 4 March 2022 $200M Series C Temasek, Tencent, Animoca Brands Active Strong
16 ProbablyMonsters Builds AAA game studios $219M 2 September 2021 $200M Series A LKCM Headwater Investments, Jerry Jones, John Goff Active Strong
17 Bungie Destiny game studio $200M 2 January 2019 $100M Series C NetEase Acquired Strong
18 Thatgamecompany Artistic social adventure games $173M 3 March 2022 $160M Series D / later-stage TPG, Sequoia Capital Active Strong
19 Sky Mavis Axie Infinity game developer $171M 3 April 2022 $11M Series C / rescue financing Binance, Animoca Brands, Andreessen Horowitz Active Partial
20 Genvid Interactive livestream event technology $166M 7 July 2021 $113M Series C Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, Makers Fund Active Strong
21 Homa Mobile game publishing platform $165M 3 October 2022 $100M Series B Quadrille Capital, Headline, Northzone Active Full
22 Manticore Games User-generated game creation platform $163M 5 March 2021 $100M Series C XN, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, LVP Active Strong
23 Pocket Gems Mobile interactive games $155M 3 May 2017 $90M Strategic equity Tencent, Sequoia Capital Active Full
24 Build A Rocket Boy Builds immersive gaming worlds $151M 3 January 2024 $110M Series D RedBird Capital Partners, Galaxy Interactive, NetEase Games Active Partial
25 Overwolf In-game mods creator platform $150M 5 November 2021 $75M Series D Andreessen Horowitz, Griffin Gaming Partners, Insight Partners Active Full
26 Supercell Mobile hit games $142M 2 April 2013 $130M Series B / secondary-heavy IVP, Index Ventures, Atomico Acquired Partial
27 Playco Instant social games $140M 2 February 2022 $40M Strategic investment Meta, Sequoia Capital, Josh Buckley Active Strong
28 Second Dinner Develops card battlers $130M 2 January 2024 $100M Series B Griffin Gaming Partners, NetEase Active Full
29 Moon Active Mobile casual games $126M 2 January 2020 $125M Series D Insight Partners, Fastforward Innovations Active Strong
30 100 Thieves Esports, apparel, gaming lifestyle $120M 3 December 2021 $60M Series C Green Bay Ventures, Breyer Capital, Tao Capital Partners Active Full
31 PlayVS Scholastic esports platform $112M 6 August 2025 $6M Series D NEA, Elysian Park Ventures, Sapphire Ventures Active Partial
32 Spyke Games Social mobile casual games $105M 2 May 2024 $50M Strategic equity / Seed extension Moon Active Active Full
33 Shadow Cloud gaming PC service $104M 4 October 2019 $33M Later-stage / Series B-style Serena Capital, Brown Venture Associates, Financière Saint James Acquired Strong
34 Team Vitality European esports organization $98M 5 January 2022 $57M Growth investment Rewired.GG, Tej Kohli Active Full
35 Theorycraft Games Makes competitive multiplayer games $88M 2 September 2022 $50M Series B Makers Fund, NEA, Andreessen Horowitz Active Strong
36 Medal Gaming clips and AI desktop $86M 5 July 2024 $13M Series D / Venture Horizons Ventures, OMERS Ventures, peak6 Active Partial
37 Cloud9 Professional esports organization $83M 6 November 2019 $1M Series C Valor Equity Partners, TrueBridge, Reimagined Ventures Active Partial
38 Team Liquid Global esports team operator $80M 4 May 2022 $35M Growth / Series B Ares Management, Revolution Growth, Hiro Capital Active Partial
39 Azra Games Mobile RPG game studio $68M 3 October 2024 $43M Series A Pantera Capital, a16z, NFX Active Strong
40 Mountaintop Studios Made tactical shooter games $66M 3 January 2024 $30M Series B / strategic Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, BoxGroup Shutdown Strong
41 Cloud Imperium Games Star Citizen game studio $63M 2 March 2020 $17M Follow-on share purchase Calder Family Office, Snoot Entertainment, ITG Investment Active Full
42 Carry1st African mobile games publisher $57M 7 October 2024 Undisclosed Strategic / Series A Mastercard Active Partial
43 Astralis Danish esports organization $56M 3 December 2019 $22M IPO Public investors, Sunstone, Heartcore Capital Acquired Strong
44 Believer Original game studio $55M 1 March 2023 $55M Series A Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, BITKRAFT Active Full
45 Skillz Competitive mobile gaming platform $54M 9 December 2017 $25M Series C Telstra Ventures, Liberty Global, Accomplice IPO Partial
46 Horizon Blockchain Games Web3 wallet and game platform $53M 4 October 2022 $40M Series A Brevan Howard Digital, Morgan Creek Digital, Ubisoft Acquired Strong
47 Fnatic Global esports brand $53M 5 December 2022 Undisclosed Series C-II Beringea, Marubeni, LVL1 Group Active Partial
48 Next Games Licensed mobile games $51M 3 March 2017 $35M IPO Public investors, IDG Ventures, AMC Networks Acquired Strong
49 Singularity 6 Created social MMO Palia $49M 3 July 2021 $30M Series B FunPlus Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, LVP Acquired Full
50 Gen.G Esports Global esports organization $46M 2 November 2019 Undisclosed Later equity Will Smith, Dreamers Fund, Dennis Wong Active Strong
51 FaZe Clan Gaming lifestyle media brand $40M 6 August 2021 Undisclosed Strategic investment Jimmy Iovine, NTWRK, Cox Enterprises Acquired Partial
52 Kixeye Midcore strategy games $39M 3 March 2018 $20M Series D Icon Ventures, Trinity Ventures, Lightspeed Acquired Strong
53 Elodie Games Built cross-platform co-op games $38M 2 September 2021 $33M Series A Galaxy Interactive, Andreessen Horowitz, Patron Shutdown Full
54 Team SoloMid Professional esports organization $37M 1 July 2018 $37M Series A Bessemer Venture Partners, AME Cloud Ventures, Stephen Curry Active Full
55 Gardens Creates online shared worlds $36M 2 July 2023 $31M Series A Lightspeed Venture Partners, KRAFTON, Dreamhaven Active Full
56 Stardust Blockchain gaming developer tools $35M 2 October 2022 $30M Series A Framework Ventures, Acrew Capital, Blockchain Capital Active Full
57 Misfits Gaming Group Esports and gaming media $35M 1 September 2021 $35M Venture / growth equity E.W. Scripps Company, Trog Hawley Capital Active Strong
58 Grand Games AI-assisted mobile game studio $33M 2 January 2025 $30M Series A Balderton Capital, Bek Ventures, Laton Ventures Active Full
59 Parsec Low-latency remote desktop $33M 4 December 2020 $25M Series B Andreessen Horowitz, Makers Fund, Lerer Hippeau Acquired Partial
60 Planetarium Labs Open-source Web3 game studio $32M 1 July 2022 $32M Series A Animoca Brands, Samsung Next, Wemade Active Full
61 mod.io Cross-platform game modding tools $31M 3 November 2021 $26M Series A Tencent, LEGO Ventures, Makers Fund Active Full
62 Mainframe Industries Builds cloud-native MMO games $30M 3 November 2021 $20M Series B Andreessen Horowitz, Riot Games, Dreamhaven Active Strong
63 Star Stable Entertainment Horse MMORPG developer $29M 3 December 2018 $11M Series A Nordisk Games, Kima Ventures, Longrun Capital Acquired Partial
64 Seriously Best Fiends developer $28M 4 August 2015 $18M Series A Northzone, Korea Investment Partners, Upfront Ventures Acquired Strong
65 G2 Esports Global esports entertainment brand $27M 4 March 2025 Undisclosed Series B WISE Ventures, The Tornante Company, Gary Vaynerchuk Active Partial
66 Gamefam Roblox game publisher $25M 1 March 2022 $25M Series A Konvoy Ventures, Play Ventures, Makers Fund Active Full
67 Ruckus Games Co-op shooter studio $25M 2 November 2024 $19M Series A Krafton, BITKRAFT Ventures, Hypergryph Active Full
68 SuperGaming Indian multiplayer game studio $22M 3 August 2025 $15M Series B Skycatcher, Steadview Capital, a16z Speedrun Active Strong
69 Space Ape Games Multiplayer mobile games $21M 6 May 2015 Undisclosed Series C extension Northzone, Accel, Initial Capital Acquired Partial
70 Lightforge Games Social RPG studio $20M 2 March 2022 $15M Series A BITKRAFT Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, NetEase Shutdown Full
71 LightFury Games AAA cricket games studio $20M 2 April 2026 $11M Pre-Series A Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI Active Full
72 Tamatem Arabic mobile game publisher $18M 5 December 2021 $11M Series B KRAFTON, VentureSouq, Endeavor Catalyst Active Partial
73 Riot Games Online competitive games $17M 3 September 2009 $8M Series B Tencent, Benchmark Capital, FirstMark Capital Acquired Strong
74 FACEIT Competitive gaming platform $17M 2 January 2016 $15M Series A Anthos Capital, Index Ventures, United Ventures Acquired Full
75 NRG Esports North American esports organization $15M 4 September 2017 $15M Series B Marshawn Lynch, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez Active Partial
76 ReKTGlobal Esports teams and entertainment $11M 6 December 2020 Undisclosed Strategic / equity Nick Gross, Steve Aoki, Live Nation Entertainment Acquired Partial
77 Guilded Gaming community chat platform $10M 2 April 2020 $7M Series A Matrix Partners, Initialized Capital, Susa Ventures Shutdown Full
78 Battlefy Esports tournament platform $6M 3 November 2020 $5M Series A Deep Fork Capital, BDC Ventures, William Morris Endeavor Active Partial
79 Trailmix Casual puzzle mobile games $4M 1 February 2018 $4M Seed Supercell Acquired Strong
80 Hidden Leaf Games Develops competitive online games $3M 1 May 2021 $3M Seed Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vermillion Ventures, Logan Margulies Active Full
81 Blacknut Cloud gaming subscription platform $3M 2 June 2022 Undisclosed Strategic investment Square Enix, GO Capital, Nestadio Capital Active Partial
82 miHoYo Anime-style gacha games $0M 1 January 2012 $0M Angel Hangzhou Skye Network Technology Active Partial
83 Mojang Minecraft game studio $0M 0 N/A $0M No external equity N/A Acquired Full
84 Xsolla Game commerce payments platform $0M 0 N/A Undisclosed N/A N/A Active Strong

Key funding trends in the gaming market

Insights

  • Gaming market funding is highly concentrated, with the top 10 startups capturing about 73% of the capital in this ranking
  • Epic Games alone raised $7.9B, which is more than Unity, Playtika, Scopely, Machine Zone, and Roblox combined
  • Platform and infrastructure companies dominate gaming startup funding, especially game engines, user-generated gaming platforms, blockchain gaming infrastructure, and metaverse infrastructure
  • Web3 gaming remains a major funding theme, but Forte, Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, Mythical Games, Immutable, and Sky Mavis account for most of the category
  • Esports has strong consumer visibility, but esports organizations raised far less capital than leading game engines and gaming platforms
  • Recent funding is selective, with only three ranked gaming startups raising in the last 12 months: PlayVS, SuperGaming, and LightFury Games
  • Many older gaming companies became acquisition targets, which shows how strategic buyers often absorb successful studios, publishers, and esports assets
  • The median gaming startup raised only $56.5M, so the market has a very wide gap between platform leaders and smaller game studios

A few word about our methodology

As you can see, we built a database that ranks startups in the gaming market based on their total cumulative fundraising. To create this ranking, we reviewed many sources and cross-checked information across multiple places.

Whenever possible, we prioritized official company communications, since they are the most reliable source for funding amounts. When those were not available, we relied on reputable industry sources such as TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Financial Times or Forbes (to name a few).

We excluded random blogs, unverified websites, and any sources that could not be validated.

When funding rounds were announced in other currencies such as euros, Swiss francs, Singapore dollars, Australian dollars, or rupees, we converted them into approximate USD equivalents for consistency.

Sometimes different sources report slightly different numbers, or the exact round size is not fully disclosed. In those cases, we flag the uncertainty and assign a confidence label to each startup, visible in the last column.

Here is what they mean.

Full confidence: The company’s equity fundraising history can be reconstructed completely from public sources. The rounds, dates, amounts, and key investors are clearly identified, with no meaningful gaps.

Strong confidence: The fundraising history is largely complete and reliable. There may be a small missing detail, such as incomplete investor information or a minor round with limited data, but the overall record is clear.

Partial confidence: The main fundraising rounds can be identified, but the record is incomplete or somewhat mixed. Some rounds may be missing or certain funding events may be difficult to separate clearly.

Low confidence: Public information is too limited, inconsistent, or ambiguous to reliably reconstruct the company’s equity fundraising history.

When the confidence level is too low, we take a conservative approach and exclude the company from the ranking. We don’t want to include data that cannot be reliably verified.

In a world where LLMs hallucinate and unreliable information is everywhere, our goal is simple: provide data you can trust.

If you want the full detail on a specific calculation, feel free to contact us and we will gladly explain.

Finally, know that we update the dataset once per month, so come back here if you need fresh information.

Who is the author of this content?

NEW MARKET PITCH TEAM

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How we created this content 🔎📝

At New Market Pitch, we kept seeing the same problem: when you look at a new market, the data is either missing, paywalled, or buried in 300-page reports that feel like they were written in the 80s. On the other side, LLMs and random blog posts give you confident answers with no sources, and sometimes they just make things up. That’s not good enough when you’re about to invest real money or launch a company.

So we decided to fix the experience. For each market we cover, we build a structured database and update it on a regular basis. We track funding rounds, fund memos, M&A moves, partnerships, new products, policy changes, and the real activity of startups and incumbents. Then we turn all of that into a clear “market pitch” that shows where the opportunities are and how people actually win in that space.

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